Get ready for the World Cup! The brand new Berlitz Brazilian Portuguese phrase book contains all the phrases you really need when you are in Brazil, whether it is asking for directions, joining in on the football talk or ordering food and drinks. All the phrases are organised in easy-to-use sections such as Survival, People, Leisure Time and Emergencies, with useful cultural and travel tips written by local authors, a two-way dictionary of over 3,000 words, plus an essential grammar and pronunciation guide. Other features include a fresh, crisp design and user-friendly layout with eye-catching colour-coding and full-colour photography. You'll never be lost for words with Berlitz.

Brazil is a fantastic and rewarding place to visit and the warmth of the Brazilian people are it's greatest attraction. If you plan on going anywhere in Brazil besides the international hotel in front of Copacabana beach that you booked online, you're going to 'need' (not want, but NEED) to know at least 'some' Portuguese words and phrases. Having this book as a reference is a great item to keep in your backpack, and I think Berlitz still makes the best phrase book.

Having traveled around Brazil in the past, I told my wife (she hadn't been there before) that not that many people in Brazil speak English, and it's not like in Europe where most American's can point at an item, make some funny faces, speak twice as loud (like somehow louder will make them understand), hopefully someone within an earshot who speaks English will bail you out ....and muddle their way through a 2 week vacation like this. That's not going to fly in Brazil. There isn't going to be anyone in that earshot 90% of the time outside of the tourist belt. After about the 3rd day on our trip my wife said, "Wow, you were right, not very many people DO speak English." Well, I speak enough Portuguese to get around comfortably, and have some conversations with people, but for my wife, it was tough because people on the street wanted to visit with her and she really couldn't communicate, or even order food at restaurants. If you are the inquisitive type, or just don't want to be an ugly American, having a good reference book is a must because new words come up, or you may want to ask for certain things while doing things on the street, restaurant, shopping, and most of what you may need should be in this book.

Sure you can use Google Translator, that's my wife's secret weapon ....to whip out the phone at the absolute first sign of confusion. While I think Google Translator is a powerful piece of technology, and it HAS saved our hide a few times, particularly in very esoteric situations, it looks (and feels) incredibly stupid to do so ....plus, once you get past the situation you were in you really don't retain anything using G-translator that you can build upon in the future. If you really want to get something meaningful out of your trip to Brazil, put a little work into learning the language and you will be RICHLY rewarded. It is very similar to Spanish and Italian in structure so the basics are easy to pick up on.

Pro's of the Berlitz phrase books (like this one):1) Compact size2) Pretty well organized3) Nice 'feel' with the paper stock they've selected. Better than some which use a cheaper paper4) Dictionary in the back that contains most (but not all) of what you're likely to run into in both English and Portuguese.5) "You May Hear" sections in the book are extremely helpful in pointing out what you are likely to hear back from waiters, ticket sellers, doctors, or other people you may encounter. Some books don't have this and due to the speed of conversation and the Brazilian accent, often times I wasn't able to understand what I was hearing, but later looking at it in the book, I was able to see the words and it made perfect sense ...something I was able to remember and use the next time.

Things that could be better:1) There are a few pages of basic grammar in the back, but I'd like to see Berlitz dump the table of Contents and a few other things, and quadruple the grammar section. If you understand basic grammar and verb tense rules, you can really build a lot of sentences and go a long way with a little knowledge. That's the problem with most early learners ...they want to quick fast approach but unless you understand the very basics of Latin language structure, it's going to be very difficult and not make sense. This isn't adequate here IMO.2) Increase the "Romance" section. Ok, the first thing I do when I look at a Phrasebook is go to the 'Romance' section. Same with my wife. I don't know why, but we use the sentences on each other and make some jokes when we are traveling around, which makes our trip even more fun. I've read some phrasebooks (like Lonely Planet) which really get down to the nitty-gritty of romance and then some, almost makes ya blush!3) Page of common verbs. I'd like to see a page or two with tables of common verbs and tenses. This has got to be the most important thing to know and Berlitz has very little of it. They have some, but woefully inadequate IMO.4) Re-do their pictures - They have pictures on some pages, but rather than looking at that back of people standing at a subway station, why not put pictures of interesting places in Brazil that readers might not know about (and some type 6 text explaining the picture) that they may later want to visit?

Overall, this is a good book to take with you and refer to during plane rides, in the hotel at night, or wherever. My ultimate suggestion before heading off to Brazil would be to buy a used copy of the Living Language Brazilian Portuguese - Complete Course with 4 CD's and Coursebook, and invest a little time each night a couple weeks before leaving. You will really learn something. The L/L Coursebook is really good, with a lot of grammar (but not overbearing). Then visit some You tube Portuguese language tutorial pages so you can also hear the Brazilian accent because it's more like French than Spanish and you need to start training your ear to start understanding the sounds, so you can recognize what you are hearing. I carried that L/L Coursebook with me when I was in Brazil and would thumb through it at night and on plane rides to learn things I forgot or how to say certain things, or verb tenses. Then keep the Berlitz as an everyday book in your backpack to brush up on things as you need. You can be conversational in no time.

Great little phrasebook, I'm usually pretty rubbish with languages but I do travel a lot and always try and learn some basic phrases to get me by. I'm going to Brazil for the World Cup and this book is ideal for picking up phrases quickly and easily, I love how it is broken into the different sections which are relevant, rather than the standard. And the phrases at the back especially for the World Cup are perfect! It has helped me feel really prepared and excited for the trip. Good buy, really happy with my purchase.